An early morning thunderstorm on August 5th brought heavy rain that briefly closed State Highway 70 in Barren County. Later that afternoon, slow moving thunderstorms developed in a moisture rich air mass ahead of a cold front that was moving south across southern Indiana.
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Deaths and injuries are direct and indirect together, as the offices filed them. Damage is property and crops in the dollars of the year, not adjusted for inflation, and only where an office estimated it.
The episode as NWS LMK wrote it up.
An early morning thunderstorm on August 5th brought heavy rain that briefly closed State Highway 70 in Barren County. Later that afternoon, slow moving thunderstorms developed in a moisture rich air mass ahead of a cold front that was moving south across southern Indiana. Despite the scattered nature of this convection, several nearly stationary storms produced excessive rainfall across central Kentucky south of Louisville.
The local office's own words before the first event, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.
NWS Louisville, KY wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Aug 5, 1:23 AM CST, 2 hours 27 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LOUISVILLE KY 323 AM EDT SUN AUG 05 2012 .Short Term (Today through Tonight)... Issued at 320 AM EDT Sun Aug 5 2012 ...Strong to Severe Storms Expected this Afternoon/Evening... A very challenging forecast is in store for the short term period. Current radar imagery shows convection over southern IL/western KY headed eastward into our area. Intermittent convection was also noted along a sfc cold front stretching from the Great Lakes down through central IL/MO and out westward into northern OK. The most immediate threat would be the southern IL/western KY cluster which shows signs of weakening this morning. No strong winds have been reported out of this cluster in several hours now. However, very heavy rainfall and excessive lightning remain. Think that this cluster will continue to weaken as it moves eastward into western portions our area by between 4-5am EDT. The cluster will be battling a slightly more stable environment from rains in our western sections yesterday and it will become more displaced from better flow aloft associated with the sfc front and upper level trough. Thus, think that our severe threat for this morning is very small. Most likely we'll see moderate to strong storms with heavy rainfall and lots of lightning this morning. Convection for the rest of the day is dependent on how this first cluster of convection behaves this morning and where the actual sfc front ends up by this afternoon. No model is doing superb on handling convection this morning, however, the 0Z NAM12 and 4Z RAP seem to be doing the best. Therefore, will use a combo of these models as well as obs/trends to produce the afternoon forecast. For this afternoon, believe convection should re-fire some where along the actual sfc front by early afternoon. It's still a bit uncertain as to where the front will be at that time, but the best guess attm is along the Ohio River by early afternoon. Convection will mostly likely re-fire near the river over southeast Indiana or far northern KY first closer to the best dynamics and also in an area that may see less cloud cover during the morning hours according to the latest satellite trends. The line is expected to fill in farther south across the rest of central KY this afternoon. A line of multicell clusters or short line segments will be the likely storm mode with strong to severe storms possible. The main threats with these storms will be damaging winds, dangerous lightning, and very heavy rainfall. Although small, wet hail will be possible as well. The best time for strong to severe storms this afternoon/evening looks to be between 2pm to 10pm EDT. After that time, the severe threat will diminish with lingering storms along the front tonight over south central KY as the front makes slow progress SE. As for temps, we should be limited to the mid to upper 80s for highs today with plenty of clouds/rain most of the day. Lows tonight will range from the lower 60s north to lower 70s south depending on the track of the front. .Long Term (Monday through Saturday)... Issued at 300 AM EDT Sun Aug 5 2012 Could have some showers and a few storms lingering across southeast portions of the forecast area Monday morning. These should quickly exit the area as the front continues a slow push southeast and surface high pressure builds in. Expect temperatures will take some time to rebound across the southeast with the lingering precip and cloud cover. So, these locations will likely only reach the lower 80s, while points north and west will top out in the mid and upper 80s. With high pressure across the area through at least Wednesday, expect temperatures ranging from the mid 80s to low 90s and dry conditions. The only storm chance appears to be located along the higher terrain southeast of the forecast area, with very little chance of making it into our southeast. Overnight lows will range from the mid 60s to low 70s. Models continue to agree that an upper-level trough will deepen and slowly track across the Great Lakes from late Thursday through Saturday. A cold front associated with this system will then move through Thursday night and Friday. There remains some differing opinions amongst the guidance as to when this front will actually traverse the forecast area. However, with the approach of the front and increasing instability, there could be storm development Thursday afternoon/evening. Will leave scattered showers and storms in the forecast for Thursday afternoon, with chances continuing through Friday as storms continue along and ahead of the front. Shower and thunderstorm chances appear to come to an end by late Friday/early Saturday. Temperatures Thursday will be tricky with cloud cover and precip chances, but still believe upper 80s to around 90 degrees is reasonable. Then some cooler air behind the front will enter the Ohio Valley as we head into the weekend, with highs generally in the low to mid 80s. && .Aviation (06Z TAF Issuance)... Issued at 130 AM EDT Sun Aug 5 2012 MCS over eastern MO and southern IL continues to make progress eastward this morning. This complex will eventually make its way into the TAF sites around sunrise which is later than previously forecast. Barring no development ahead of the current line (525Z), storms should reach SDF around 10Z, BWG around 11Z, and LEX around 12Z. In thunderstorms, conditions will likely be reduced to MVFR possibly even IFR. For now will keep the TEMPO MVFR in place. Ahead of any t-storms this morning, low level wind shear will be present as sfc winds remain from the south around 5-8 kts while winds aloft are from the SW around 32-38 kts. Although the speed shear is marginal, felt that the borderline speed shear plus good directional shear still warranted a TAF mention. After morning storms, it should take time for the atmosphere to destabilize once again. Therefore, will not mention any more storms at SDF, but could see redevelopment ahead of the cold front in the afternoon at BWG/LEX. Cold frontal passage should be in the early/mid afternoon with winds veering to westerly and then northwesterly. Slightly later frontal passage at BWG/LEX could allow for late afternoon storm development. Once storms cease tonight, low cigs and vsby (IFR-MVFR) will become a concern. Will handle in the next TAF issuance and focus this TAF more on t-storm timing. && .LMK WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... IN...NONE. KY...NONE. Short Term.......AMS Long Term........MJP Aviation.........AMS
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LOUISVILLE KY 346 AM EDT SUN AUG 5 2012 INZ076>079-083-084-089>092-KYZ023>043-045>049-053>057-061>067- 070>078-081-082-061100- ORANGE IN-WASHINGTON IN-SCOTT IN-JEFFERSON IN-DUBOIS IN-CRAWFORD IN- PERRY IN-HARRISON IN-FLOYD IN-CLARK IN-HANCOCK KY-BRECKINRIDGE KY- MEADE KY-OHIO KY-GRAYSON KY-HARDIN KY-BULLITT KY-JEFFERSON KY- OLDHAM KY-TRIMBLE KY-HENRY KY-SHELBY KY-FRANKLIN KY-SCOTT KY- HARRISON KY-SPENCER KY-ANDERSON KY-WOODFORD KY-FAYETTE KY-BOURBON KY- NICHOLAS KY-NELSON KY-WASHINGTON KY-MERCER KY-JESSAMINE KY-CLARK KY- LARUE KY-MARION KY-BOYLE KY-GARRARD KY-MADISON KY-BUTLER KY- EDMONSON KY-HART KY-GREEN KY-TAYLOR KY-CASEY KY-LINCOLN KY-LOGAN KY- WARREN KY-SIMPSON KY-ALLEN KY-BARREN KY-MONROE KY-METCALFE KY- ADAIR KY-RUSSELL KY-CUMBERLAND KY-CLINTON KY- INCLUDING THE CITIES OF...PAOLI...SALEM...SCOTTSBURG...MADISON... JASPER...MARENGO...TELL CITY...CORYDON...NEW ALBANY... JEFFERSONVILLE...HAWESVILLE...HARDINSBURG...BRANDENBURG... BEAVER DAM...LEITCHFIELD...ELIZABETHTOWN...FORT KNOX... MOUNT WASHINGTON...SHEPHERDSVILLE...LOUISVILLE...LA GRANGE... BEDFORD...NEW CASTLE...SHELBYVILLE...FRANKFORT...GEORGETOWN... CYNTHIANA...TAYLORSVILLE...LAWRENCEBURG...VERSAILLES...LEXINGTON... PARIS...CARLISLE...BARDSTOWN...SPRINGFIELD...HARRODSBURG... NICHOLASVILLE...WINCHESTER...HODGENVILLE...LEBANON...DANVILLE... LANCASTER...RICHMOND...MORGANTOWN...BROWNSVILLE...MUNFORDVILLE... GREENSBURG...CAMPBELLSVILLE...LIBERTY...STANFORD...RUSSELLVILLE... BOWLING GREEN...FRANKLIN...SCOTTSVILLE...GLASGOW...TOMPKINSVILLE... EDMONTON...COLUMBIA...JAMESTOWN...BURKESVILLE...ALBANY 346 AM EDT SUN AUG 5 2012 /246 AM CDT SUN AUG 5 2012/ THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF SOUTH CENTRAL INDIANA AND CENTRAL KENTUCKY. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT. SCATTERED TO NUMEROUS THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED TODAY AND TONIGHT AS A COLD FRONT AND UPPER LEVEL TROUGH MOVE THROUGH THE REGION. STORMS THIS MORNING ARE EXPECTED TO BE MODERATE TO STRONG WITH VERY HEAVY RAINFALL...GUSTY WINDS...AND CLOUD TO GROUND LIGHTNING. STORMS THIS AFTERNOON ALONG THE COLD FRONT WILL HAVE A GREATER POTENTIAL TO BECOME SEVERE MAINLY ALONG AND EAST OF INTERSTATE 65. STRONG TO SEVERE STORMS WITH DAMAGING WINDS...SMALL HAIL...TORRENTIAL RAINFALL...AND INTENSE LIGHTNING WILL BE POSSIBLE MAINLY BETWEEN 2 PM TO 10 PM EDT...1 PM TO 9 PM CDT. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...MONDAY THROUGH SATURDAY. ISOLATED TO SCATTERED STORMS MAY LINGER NEAR THE SURFACE FRONT OVER PORTIONS OF SOUTH CENTRAL AND EAST CENTRAL KENTUCKY THROUGH MONDAY MORNING. THE NEXT CHANCE FOR THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE THURSDAY AND FRIDAY AS AN UPPER LEVEL TROUGH BRINGS MULTIPLE DISTURBANCES AND A COLD FRONT THROUGH THE REGION. THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE CAPABLE OF PRODUCING GUSTY WINDS...HEAVY RAINFALL...AND LIGHTNING. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTERS ARE ENCOURAGED TO SEND REPORTS OF STRONG WINDS...WIND DAMAGE...MINOR FLOODING...AND HAIL TO THE NWS IN LOUISVILLE VIA THE SPOTTER HOTLINE...ESPOTTER...TWITTER...OR FACEBOOK. && MORE INFORMATION...ALONG WITH OTHER WEATHER...HYDROLOGICAL AND CLIMATE INFORMATION CAN BE FOUND...AT HTTP://WEATHER.GOV/LOUISVILLE (ALL LOWER CASE). AMS/MJP
The Louisville radar (KLVX), 98 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 09:50 UTC.
4 flash flood, 2 heavy rain, 1 flood, 1 thunderstorm wind. Local standard time, as filed.
Local law enforcement reported that water covered a portion of highway 70 between Griderville and Hiseville.
Bowling Green broadcast media reported that a large oak tree was downed near the town of Sugar Grove. Dime sized hail was fell with this storm.
In Elizabethtown, a spotter reported that six to seven inches of flowing water closed the State Highway 31 bypass near St John Road.
A section of State Highway 220 near Rineyville was closed due to high water.
A Kentucky Mesonet rain gauge located 8 miles west of Elizabethtown measured 3.33 inches of rain in 40 minutes.
High water briefly blocked the entrance to the Dollar General Store along Highway 62 near Cecilia.
A spotter northwest of Big Clifty measured 4.5 inches of rain. This rain fell within a 2 hour period.
Local law enforcement reported that a water rescue was required from a vehicle at the Elizabethtown youth soccer facility.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Kentucky in 2012Every state in 2012This day in weather historyWarnings in Kentucky, August 2012
NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 388753, 388752, 388746, 388747, 388750, 388748, 388751, 388749.